Duterte confirms existence of bank accounts

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte confirmed Thursday he has several bank accounts at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), one of which was with its branch on Julia Vargas Ave., in Metro Manila’s Pasig City.

But Duterte, speaking to reporters in the central Luzon province of Bataan, insisted that his bank account in the said BPI branch does not contain P211 million, as alleged by Sen. Antonio Trillanes.

“I have accounts at BPI. But it does not contain that much money. Just thousands. It could not go beyond that,” Duterte said, adding that his two bank accounts only contain P50,000 and P17,000 each.

Duterte said that his BPI accounts were put up when he was a congressman. “It used to be big, but I spent it already,” he added.

Duterte’s statement came after Trillanes made public the numbers of the accounts allegedly owned by the mayor.

Trillanes said the said bank accounts included some P211 million in cash that was not declared in Duterte’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

The senator also claimed that Duterte has accounts in other banks like LandBank, Banco de Oro, and Metrobank.

Trillanes, who is running for vice president and is supporting presidential bet Grace Poe, dared Duterte to sign a specific waiver authorizing the opening of the accounts.

But Duterte said he wants Trillanes to file a formal affidavit first before making his accounts public.

“I will ask him to make a statement under oath where and when he got it, for what purpose and how. File a case and I will open the accounts,” he said. CATHERINE S. VALENTE